Love Hina: Two Managers
by Durandel
Summary: Through a chance encounter, help arrives for Keitaro just as he becomes the new landlord of Hinatasou, and through an unlikely reccomendation, this said person becomes the reluctant assistant manager of Hinatasou. How will he cope with the dorm's tenants?
1. Prolouge

**_Eheh... its been a while since I've written something, so I might be a little rusty. For those of you who are reading, this chapter is mainly to explain the new character somewhat and explain how exactly he knew about Hinatasou. Part of this is a bit rushed mainly because of the period of time that passed in the center, but I didn't want to make this too long as it is a prolouge. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it._**

**_Also, I won't make any promises, but if you review, I'll be sure to review one of your stories, as I think that it is a common courtesy among the writers of this site. So, enjoy._**

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own any part of Love Hina or any idea that Ken Akamastu has created, however, all original characters and ideas belong to me._

**Prologue**

_This all started when I met that one old lady. I was traveling overseas in Korea for vacation as I just graduated from high school. It was a bit awkward really, as it was my first time traveling alone._

I was walking down the busy streets of Seoul. My backpack still slung over my shoulders. I had just arrived a little while ago and frankly, I was a bit confused. Money of course, wasn't the issue. I was lost.

"How the hell did this happen?" I asked myself as I kept on moving.

I was stuck in the middle of Seoul, finding my way out would be really hard, considering that I'm really bad with maps. It kind of a hopeless situation actually.

"Man, mom and dad are gonna be pissed…"

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed a number. I waited until I heard the phone getting picked up.

"_Grier residence, what's up?" _I heard a voice say.

"**Hyung?**" I asked, not sure if it really was my older brother or not.

"_Seth? Hey, what's up? I haven't from you since you graduated."_

"Yeah…sorry about that. Listen, do you know what mom and dad's number is?" I asked, my parents just moved, and I was near the place where they were gonna go. It was out of Seoul, of course, but somewhere on the near country side, I stayed with my brother during my high school life.

"_Oh yeah, about that… mom and dad are over at my place now, they said the commute to Korea would really eat into their savings, so they decide to stay over here to find another house, I'm helping of course."_

Everything around me stopped.

"Wait, what?" I asked again.

"_Mom and dad are still here in the states, why?"_

"Nothing, can I speak to them?"

"_Oh, there out right now."_

"Oh…"

"_Is something wronng?"_

"Huh? No, everything is fine. Tell mom and dad I said hi."

"_All right man, see ya."_

"Bye."

I hung up. My mouth fell open and my mind was driven into a state of complete confusion.

"_**This whole trip was pointless!?" **_I thought to myself, it seemed pointless, now that my main reason for being here shot down the drain.

I found a bench to sit down at and sat there in a daze, I soon found that irritation filled my mind.

"There goes a chunk of my savings." I said to myself, seeing as how I needed to buy yet another plane ticket.

I thought about my situation for a while.

"Y'know, maybe this isn't so bad, I needed a vacation and I haven't been here in a while, so this could work out nicely."

"All right, I need to know how much money I have right now…" I said as I leaned over to check my pack.

It wasn't there, I saw a faint outline as were it was but instead of that it was gone. I looked up to see somebody running off with my pack.

"Son of a…"

I jumped from the bench and chased after the person. I soon caught up with him as my pack was a bit heavy.

"How they hell do you think you're gonna get away when you carry so much weight!?" I yelled after the person, who I soon found to be a guy not much younger than me.

I tackled the thief, we went flying into the nearest pole. His head collided with the pole, I happened to be behind him, so I was unaffected. I picked up my pack and found a purse close to it.

"You were busy now, weren't you?" I told the thief.

"Stop thief!" I heard a voice yell in Japanese.

I turned to tell the person that everything was okay. I was hit it the face by a thrown cane instead. I gave a quick yelp of pain as it slammed in my face. I fell to the ground and decided to lie down for a little while.

"_**Why does this always happen to me?!"**_

"Grandma, you shouldn't do things like that! It's bad for your health," I heard another voice say.

"Don't be silly, I've a few more years left in this old body," I heard her reply.

I got up with my hand on my head. It's been a while since I heard Japanese, but I understood them. I had studied my entire school life, languages weren't really my problem.

"Um… excuse me, but here's your purse," I said, trying my best to remember a little bit of my Japanese. I handed the purse to a rather short old lady.

"Oh, young man, you weren't the thief?" She asked.

"No, I happened to get something stolen by him too,"

"I am so sorry, I mistook you for the thief."

"Nothing to worry about, I get hit in the head plenty of times."

"There must be something I can do to help you."

"No, don't worry about it, its fine."

I thought about something for a moment.

"Do you know where a good hotel is?" I asked.

"Why that's simple, it should be easy to find…"

_And that's when I met Grandma Hinata, I traveled with here and her granddaughter Kanako for about three whole months before we parted ways, she happened to give me a map or something should I ever go to Japan to visit a place called the Hinata Inn. It's been one year since then. I decided to travel the world as well, with my last destination being Japan to study overseas. I remembered the place and decided to check it out._

"Looks like I finally arrived," I said to myself as I proceed up the stairs of the actual inn.

I proceed up the stairs until I finally got to the top. It was then that I heard a shout.

"I wont allow it!!"

"What can I do about it…!'

This was followed by a man flying straight above me, giving a loud yell as it happened. I stood there speechless at what just happened.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

**End Prolouge**

**_Hyung: Korean Honorific referring to an older brother._**


	2. Chapter 1

**_Eheh.. I noticed I only got one review... anyways, thank you Triggonseed, for the record, _Hyung_ means older borther in Korean, anyways, thanks for the review, at least I know my story isn't bad. I also noticed that I'm on the alert list of somebody, which is pretty cool, though I would really appreciate it if you could leave me a review Shethian. Anyways, this is basically how Seth is first introduced to everybody in the story... I hope you enjoy!_**

**Disclamer: _I do not own Love Hina or any of the ideas that Ken Akamatsu has created, however, anything original created in this story is mine. _**

**Chapter 1**

"Hah… so sorry about this, I was just accepted… made manager about five minutes before you arrived," The manger himself said to me.

His name was Keitaro Urashima, or Urashima Keitaro, if you want to do it the proper way. Amazingly, he was unscathed by the sight I witnessed, with him being the victim. His brown hair covered his forehead lazily and his brown eyes had the opposite impression, he seemed determined, even though "lazy" would be written all over his expression.

"Just a quick question, how exactly did you live?" I asked, the thought was irritating me too much.

"Oh, that, it happens all the time," He replied with a smile, it didn't seem fake either.

"Weird, and you still stay here?"

"Well… I really have no where else to go, I can go back home, but I don't want to bug my parents."

"Right, right…" I pondered.

"Other than the ruckus, I find this place to be kind of relaxing." He continued.

I agreed with him on that, it did look like it could be relaxing. The hot springs radiating their steam and the sun splashing all over the smooth wooden floors would get people drawn to this place. I can see a small bit of reason as to why he would want to stay here.

"So, your manager now, even if you've only been it for about an hour," I stated.

"Yeah… but I don't know… the girls don't like me that much…" Keitaro replied, sighing a bit.

"Well… couldn't you just kick them out? Since this is an inn and all."

"Actually… this is now a girls dorm."

Things went silent yet again as I my entire expression froze. I gave a sigh.

"Wow, that really wasn't really the reaction I was expecting," Keitaro commented.

"I'm used to it; you would be surprised as to what happened to me last year."

I told him the story about Grandma Hinata and my whole predicament with my parents.

"Hmm… that old lady happens to be my grandma," Keitaro replied.

"Wha!?" I replied, of course, it wasn't much of a reply.

"Yeah, she gave me a call about a month after she arrived in Seoul telling me that she met somebody very similar to me, of course, why she did that I have no idea."

"Well, that does sound like her."

"It also says in this paper that a guy named Seth Song Grier was supposed to help me around here, should I accept to be manager of this place."

"Yeah… Wait what!?" I yelled.

"Yeah, it says it right here," He replied, handing me the paper.

I read the paper. I soon dropped right after. My body was frozen in a complete state of shock.

"_**That crazy old woman!!!" **_I yelled in my mind.

I soon leaned back and ran my hand through my silver hair. I closed my silver eyes and gave a sigh. I thought about the situation. I needed a job and some living quarters, so this pretty much settles it. But how the hell am I supposed to know something like what happened to Keitaro would happen to me? I took my chances.

"Okay… I'll help you out." I finally said

"Wait, you're Seth?" Keitaro asked.

"Did you not see my reaction? What else did you think it meant?"

"You weren't able to get a job?"

I somehow stumbled to the ground at this comment even though I was sitting down. I gave a sigh; even I could be kind of slow sometimes, so I let this one slide.

"All right, if you could introduce me to everyone? I kind of need to know the tenants if I'm gonna help around here," I asked.

"Sure, I'll call everybody down to the lobby, it shouldn't be much of a problem,"

I heard a knock at the door. I lied back as Keitaro went to open it. A woman with silver hair walked in.

"Keitaro, I have a favor to ask of you, could you come with me please?" She asked him in a voice as if to woo him. It sounded kind of fake, but if it were directed to any man, I'm pretty sure they would fall for it.

"Uh… yeah, sure." Keitaro replied.

He turned to me.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go do something, do you think you could find your way around here?" He apologized.

"Sure, don't worry about it," I replied.

He walked off. I sat there for a moment before reaching for another paper on Keitaro's desk. It was a map, of course, I was pretty confused as to why there was a map to this place, I also found some notes as well. I found a particularly interesting one.

_Do not use the Hot springs!!!_

"I wonder why…" I pondered. I shook it off and decided to go exploring.

I got up with the map with me and proceeded out the hall. Keitaro flew by me spinning like a top on his head. I stood there in complete amazement.

"How is he still alive?" I wondered, with a sense of confusion running through my mind.

I started to walked down the hall, seeing a lot of wooden halls in the progress. It took me thirty minutes to realize that I was walking in circles. Yeah, I was pretty pissed.

"_**How do you get lost in a damn dorm!?"**_

I looked at the map and realized that of course, I turned it in a different way every time I turned a corner.

"_**How do you mess that up!?"**_

I continued walking through the place until I reached the lobby. I sat down on one of the couches and studied the map. My mind gave away as I finished looking at it.

"_**Its hopeless, my sense of direction has gotten worse over the past year. I'm actually pretty amazed about the fact that I even found my way here."**_

I sat up from the couch and found myself lost in thought.

"_**Why am I over here exactly?"**_

"_**Everything has been such a blur, I feel like I don't even have control over my life."**_

"_**And now I'm stuck in a place with some very violent girls, I don't think I can take much more of this.**_"

"_**I don't even think that I've even seen any of these girls besides that one silver-haired one, how is that even possible?"**_

Before I knew it, I fell asleep. And about five hours later I woke up with someone looking at me straight in the face. It was a tan-skinned girl with blonde hair who looked about thirteen. I stared at her for a while before I realized what was going on. I let out a yell in surprise.

The girl replied with a kick to the face yelling, "Freeloader, Freeloader!!"

I went careening over the couch and fell to the floor head-first. I clutched my head in pain after these event passed.

"What's your problem!?" I yelled, pretty mad at the rude awakening I just experienced.

She kept on repeating: Freeloader, like she was a broken record. Of course, five minutes later, a bunch of girls wrapped in towels came rushing in from what seems, the hot springs.

"What is it Suu?" They asked.

My face flushed red as I saw them all. Of course, they noticed this too. The brown-haired girl seemed to get mad first.

"Pervert!!" She yelled, charging at me with her fist.

She swung, and as a reflex I knocked the hand out of the way. For some reason, a look of shock came over everybody. I took this opportunity to sprint upstairs. As I was running I was wondering why I was running in the first place. I sprinted down the hallways and soon heard the thunder of their footsteps. My mind went into a wild state of panic as I started to run even faster. I saw Keitaro running down the hallway wiping it with a rag. I wondered as to why he did not hear any of the noise we were making. I ran past him, sliding through the corner that he had just finished and started to run again.

"Feet don't fail me now!" I yelled as I turned another corner. I saw the group of girls waiting for me.

The tallest girl of the group with flowing black hair charged at me with a katana. My eyes widened by this and instinct kicked in again. I dodged her strike, and ran past her. She turned around and yelled out something I didn't bother to pay attention to. The girls seemed to split as I ran towards them. I found the reason was because there was now a shockwave following me. The wave kept gaining on me until finally it was about to collide. It was then that my foot slipped on the freshly cleaned floor, causing me to flip in the air. I happened to go above the wave so it collided with the wall instead of me. I somehow landed on my feet. My feet broke into another sprint as soon as my feet touched the ground and I was gone. I turned a corner and then opened the nearest door I could find. I hid behind a suit of samurai armor as I heard the girl's footsteps thunder by.

I gave a sigh before realizing the type of room I was in. I looked around and saw a very clean room, with a small section with a bed and a small shrine looking area with a rack of swords placed in front of a scroll, and along with the samurai armor I concluded that the room must belong to a swordswoman. I then remembered the girl that nearly killed me in the hallway; she was the only one carrying a sword among them.

"_**So that means…"**_

The girls face popped in my mind. I felt like I turned to stone as I heard the door open. The tenant had arrived, still wrapped in her towel.

"_**I'm in the demon's room!!!"**_

I looked up to see her glaring at me with a demon's face, I was in trouble. She drew her sword and got into a stance.

"_**Aww… crap,"**_

I jumped at least five feet in the air to avoid the attack she threw at me. Instinct kicked in yet again as I landed to the ground. I rushed to the sword rack and grasped one of the blades. I drew it and blocked the girls on coming attack. I threw her blade back using a great portion of my strength and used one of the techniques I learned on the road. It consisted of concentrating some energy into my hand and throwing it at the ground near my enemy to blow them back. I did the technique but forgot she was wearing a towel; it blew her back and her towel off. My eyes fell upon her naked state, but I quickly turned away and ran. I cursed myself after that happened, I caused a girl to go naked, which was a very unmoral thing to do in my opinion.

I heard her scream as I exited the room. With the sword still in my hand, I sprinted down the hall and eventually leapt off the edge when I noticed a glint of orange hair. I looked down and noticed I was pretty high up. A sense of dread overcame me yet again.

"_**Son of a…"**_

I landed in a gathering of hot water, meaning probably the hot springs. I lied down in the water a while. The water was soothing, but of course, the main reason I was there was to let the pain float away. I got up with a grunt and shook my entire body. A series of pops surged through my body, with the loudest being when I twisted my neck. I staggered in pain a bit after that and sat on the rocks.

"Today just isn't my day is it?' I commented as I leaned back on the rock floor.

My body started to feel cold.

"I'm surprised they haven't came down here yet," I said to myself.

I got up.

"Better find a towel to dry off before—"

The door to the springs opened. I froze as I saw a total of five tenants step into the area. I gave a sigh of relief when I saw that they were dressed now. The swordswoman was dressed pretty odd though, in a robe of kind or something. They charged at me, well three of them did anyway. That blonde, the brunette, and that black-haired one. I twitched slightly as I made another run for it. The youngest of the three stopped and pressed a button on some kind of remote, causing three missiles to fly out of nowhere and head towards me.

"How the hell are you gonna send missiles after a human!?" I yelled in confusion as this happened.

I twisted out of the way of the missiles as they went soaring past me. I did a slight limbo underneath the brunette's fist and was caught in a mid-back flip by the samurai girl with her sword raised high. She brought it down as if to cleave me in two. I caught the blade with my feet, amazingly, but was sent soaring into a nearby wall by the same girl's foot. I hit the wall so hard that it left a slight impression. I fell to the ground and had a dazed look plastered all over my face. It was then that I noticed the missiles were following me.

"Oh shi—"

They hit everything around me amazingly, but I was still hit pretty hard by the impact shock, leading to my vision to blank out and my mind to lose grip of my consciousness…

I woke up several hours later, now lying in a bed with a girl around the age of thirteen next to me. She had short blue hair, and, as many Korean women would say, she could grow up to be pretty… well, pretty. She didn't seem to know that I was awake. So I thought I would ask a question.

"Uh, excuse me?" I asked, seeing as how she was looking the other way as well.

She seemed slightly surprised and turned slowly to me.

"Y-yes? What is it?" She asked timidly, leading me to think that she was very shy.

I got up slightly only to feel sore in every area of my body.

"Ow…" I muttered to myself before turning to the girl.

"How exactly did I get here?" I asked.

She fidgeted a bit before answering.

"Well, after you tried to run away, Suu's missiles kind of…hit you, and you were kind of knocked out," She answered.

"Oh… so why exactly am I still here?" I asked.

"Well… Keitaro happened to pass by and explained everything to us, we were all really surprised at this at first," She replied.

"Ah…so he explained, looks like I owe him a favor." I told myself.

"Thank you, that cleared a lot of things in my head," I said with a smile to the girl as I turned to her.

She seemed to show a slight blush after I said that. She turned to head out the door.

"I'll go get the others," She said.

"Sorry for asking so abruptly, but could I have your name?" I asked kindly, seeing as she was one of the tenants.

She turned to me after I asked.

"Maehara Shinobu," She answered.

"I see… well, it was nice talking to you Shinobu, my name is Seth Grier," I replied.

"Pleased to meet you," She replied quickly before walking off.

I decided to lie back on the bed. It was then that I noticed a hole in the roof.

"I'll have to check on that," I told myself as I stared upward.

I must have rested for about ten minutes before all the tenants along with the manager himself showed up. I sat up, the soreness not bothering me so much right now. Keitaro spoke before me.

"Everyone, this is the Assistant Manager of Hinata Sou, Seth Song Grier. Seth, these are the tenants of the inn," He explained in what seemed a kind of uncomfortable manner.

They seemed to stare at me in a way that seemed to make me uncomfortable. And awkward silence seemed to fill the room after that. The blonde-haired girl broke the silence by introducing herself.

"Koalla Suu! Pleased to meet ya!" She said in an excited tone.

"Pleased to meet you too," I replied.

The next to introduce herself was that silver-haired woman.

"Konno Mistune, nice meeting ya," She said drowsily. It didn't take much to see that she was drunk. I was slightly puzzled as to why here eyes looked closed.

Before I could reply she walked off saying that she was going to get something else to drink. I sighed slightly but understood that it was slightly hard talking to a person when they were drunk.

"I'm pretty sure you've met Shinobu," Keitaro stated, giving a gesture as if to introduce her again if I didn't know her.

I gave a wave. She seemed to hide behind the tall girl with the long black hair. Who, when I looked at her, jolted her head away in disgust. I understood her reasons for that as well, so I made up in my mind to apologize to her later. Keitaro, somehow noticing this, introduced her to me instead.

"This is Aoyama Motoko," He introduced with the same gesture as he did with Shinobu.

Knowing I wouldn't get a response, I still greeted her.

"Nice to meet you," I said with a smile.

"Hmph," She replied, turning her head away from me again.

Last to introduce herself was the brunette, who almost treated me the same way as Motoko. I still got a greeting from her though.

"Narusegawa Naru," She introduced.

She left before I could give her a reply. Motoko, with Suu on her shoulders, left with Shinobu. Keitaro was the only one remaining.

"Sorry, they give me the same treatment," He explained.

"I already know why… for me that is, what about you?' I asked.

"Well, you that incident you just encountered?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"Well think of it as an almost copy of what you experienced."

"That's harsh."

"Except I wasn't knocked unconscious."

"Yeah… I think I should know who's the more durable of us…"

"But you can dodge really well, from what I've seen, at least."

"That was all instinct to me for some reason, especially when I was almost killed by Ms. Swordswoman in the hallway… or I guess I would call that the hellway, her own room, and the hotsprings."

"Okay… so how'd you live?"

"I happened to know a few moves, but still, I'm pretty hurting right now."

I outside and saw the sun sinking into the horizon, taking its orange glow along with it. I decided I needed some rest.

"I think I'll get some sleep now, I think I'll be better by tomorrow," I said, lying back down.

"All right, I'll just leave you alone then." Keitaro replied, walking out the room.

I gave a yawn that I didn't bother to hold back and closed my eyes…

I woke up the next day, but it was extremely early. The clock on the desk in which Keitaro seemed to be sleeping at said 6:00 A.M.

"Oh great, now I've become just like dad," I complained as I got up.

"And why is he sleeping like a bum?" I continued, walking over to Keitaro.

His mouth was hanging open and the papers underneath him were starting to become illegible from his drool, it was pretty gross. I looked at them and could make out a few math problems that were I had done in junior high. I noticed many red marks. I gave a sigh.

"Must be the stress or he really needs to crack down on those books," I commented, walking over to the backpack I brought with me from my travels.

I changed into some black shorts and a red t-shirt, my lounging clothes, you might call them. Afterwards, I walked out into the hall, the blue glow of morning still lingering within the area. I scratched my head as I let out a loud yawn and decided to try exploring once again. I actually found my way around this place. The place was nice, as I always wanted to know what it would be like to live in a traditional Japanese place, but I couldn't help but notice that it all felt very familiar to me. The way the rooms were set up, the floor was made of wood, but each room was very spaced out, and could fit a lot inside it, making more comfortable living conditions. It reminded me of a Korean home, whose rooms were almost identical. I felt a little bit more comfortable after I had walked around, as the atmosphere of the morning all seem very familiar to me, it was probably because it was relaxing.

"Probably the exact opposite of this mood in the afternoon," I predicted, and I had a feeling that I was going to be right.

I wandered until I reached was seemed to be the roof top. Of course… the site would've been great, but there was a certain something that happened to be the main reason that I kind of wanted to get away.

The sound of Motoko's wooden blade flying through the air seemed to have left a very unsettling feeling in my stomach. Yet, I still walked up to her. When I did get close to her, I felt a loud crash form on my head and she slammed her wooden blade onto my head. I clutched my head in pain and started to let out a yell.

"Why!?" I yelled, my hands still clutching onto my throbbing head.

I did a squat and started to rub my head rapidly. An occasional"ow" parted from my lips as I did so. Motoko seemed to just stare at me, and after I settled the pain I turned to her.

"What was that for?' I asked, trying to keep some anger at bay.

"I thought you were an enemy, I apologize for my actions," She said coldly, walking off.

"Can I say something to you?" I asked, getting slightly irritated.

She stopped, but did not turn to me.

"I just wanted to apologize for the actions I did against you in your room, I did not mean to do that and…"

I felt cold steel against my neck. I looked down to see Motoko with her blade drawn. I then realized that her wooden sword was her actual sword, and in only had a sheath that made it seem like a wooden sword. My face seemed to be frozen in shock when this happened.

"Try any inappropriate behavior, and I shall not be so kind," She said, sheathing her blade and walking off.

"_**That was kind!?" **_I screamed in my head.

I sat down and sighed, I seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"This really is gonna suck, isn't it?"

"Keitaro you pervert!" I heard a familiar voice yell.

"Wahhh!!! I'm sorry!" I heard the victim yell.

I heard a large thump, followed by Keitaro flying into the horizon.

"This is really gonna suck."

**End Chapter 1**


	3. Chapter 2

**Alright, I'm back after a very long hiatus, the reason is because of my monumentally huge Writers Block. When I had written the past chapter, I had tons of ideas to throw into the story, but then I realized that almost all those ideas came from other animes and mangas, so if I put them into the story, it would crush the originality of the manga, I'm really sorry for being so long out looking for ideas, but I have found a basic plot for my story and it will be updated, with a new poll every now and then.**

**This chapter is meant to be a bit more serious than my past one, it shows Seth's personal thoughts on being the assistant manager of the dorm, that and there's a surprise guest near the end. Yeah... I'm not sure how much you'll like it, but I feel pretty good about this chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Personal Thoughts**

"Oi, Keitaro, is time for you to…" I started as I walked through the door to our room.

This sentence was short-lived, as I was greeted by a rather disturbing site. At first I just stared at his body wriggling around in the ceiling, guessing mostly likely that his neck was in the grasp of a certain brunette. I could picture the foam building up in his mouth his mouth with Naru saying something like…

"You haven't learned your lesson yet?!"

Yeah… something like that. I turned and walked out the door and headed upstairs, learning from my past mishap a week ago. As I walked through the wooden hallways of the Hinatasou, my eyes were focused on the book in my hands. I read as I walked, leading me to only focus on the book, nothing else, which has saved me a couple of times from a certain swordswoman, as she couldn't convict me of anything as long as I was reading. Eventually I reached what I thought to be Naru's room, I was sadly mistaken.

"Hey Naru, when you're done killing Keitaro for the 50th… crap," I said, noticing that I was, as the saying goes, "at the wrong place, at the wrong time."

My face turned pale as Motoko sat there, staring at me, half way into her hamaka, revealing something I shouldn't have seen.

I could have sworn that death was laughing in the background at that moment.

* * *

I started to massage my neck from Naru's grasp, feeling my throat loosening every second until it reached its actual normal form. I looked at the time. 

"Crap! I gotta go!" I yelled to myself as I quickly threw some clothes on, consisting of a jacket and jeans, with a white t-shirt.

As I ran out the door, I saw Seth sprint past me yelling…

"Son of a biiii…"

Sadly, I noticed that he was pursued by the only person in this dorm that is able to wield a sword, and, as he turned the corner, was kicked in the face buy an energetic Su. He fell to the floor in surprise and some kind of move name was yelled by said swordswoman, going like…

"Rock Splitting Sword!"

I witnessed a wave flash by me and collide with Seth. He gave a loud yell as it slammed him into the wall. He fell to the floor afterward, and his body showed no signs of life, except a slight twitch. I felt sorry for him, but I had to get going.

I rushed out of the door to Hinatasou and down its massive staircase, barely catching up to the trolley in the area. As I sat down I couldn't help but feel sorry for Seth and his predicament. I mean, sure, he has really good dexterity, but his durability is in question. Plus, his misdirection always to lead to the wrong place at the wrong time, or sometimes and the right place and the wrong time… That plus a group of violent girl who are quick to judge, you just wonder if he'll make it out of the day alive.

"_**I'll pray for you Seth..."**_ I though to myself as the trolley continued towards its next destination.

* * *

"…" 

I couldn't really say anything at that moment, not even an "ouch" or a "WHY?!?!" could escape my mouth. The pain was really that unbearable, sure, a kick to the face I can deal with, but a wave of pure Ki slamming into me a moment later… not so much. For now though, I'll just try to figure out one way on making it back to my room, without running into any of the tenants, who happen to always appear before me in some weird position of half-clothed, it makes me want to sigh just thinking about it.

"_**Wait… how long was I out anyways?"**_

"My life and my youth is starting slip away pretty quickly nowadays," I said to myself as I tried to get up, of course, this failed, miserably.

My body fell back to the ground in mid-push up causing me even more pain. I grabbed for support among the wall, and finally just put pressure onto in and dragged myself upwards.

"Really, I haven't felt this bad since I practiced football with Hyung," I lamented, sliding across the hall that was, luckily, the one my room was located in, at least, that much I knew, it was a matter of guessing from hereon, but the girls should be gone by now, so I'm sure walking into the wrong room wont be that bad… I hope.

I stared at the doors that I thought were the entrance to my room. I took a gulp, fearing that it may be the wrong choice.

"I really hope my misdirection doesn't kill me again…" I said to myself.

I slowly slid open the door, only to find that it was the right choice, I gave a sigh of relief. I walked over to my bed… well it isn't really a bed in my opinion, but hey, it was comfy. Me, being in the pain I was in, decided to lie down for a bit. As my head hit the pillow, a sense of extreme relaxation rushed over me as the pains of moving were now gone. However, when I ran my hand through my slightly spiky silver hair, some blood smeared onto it. Then I realized it ran down the side of my face, my silver eyes grew wide.

_**"Imagine what would happen if this keeps up…" **_I though to myself as I straightened my body, which pained me even more.

After much struggle, I managed to stand up, and found a bandage for my cut. I gave I sigh as I did so, as I didn't expect it would be this rough managing the place. Sure, it would be everyman's dream to be the manager of a girl's dorm, especially when all of them, in the eyes of many people, would catch any man's eye. Yeah… this is the stuff of dreams… which is far from the truth. Really, if it weren't for Keitaro's special ability to heal from his wounds miraculously… I don't think he would be alive right now. I mean, heck, what girl would actually send a guy into orbit because they're clumsy? But for some reason, when they're gone, I feel weird.

"…Y'know, why is that when they're gone and I'm free from pain, that I actually feel strange?" I said after I looked around for a bit.

I picked up my black backpack and scrounged through it for a while. Eventually, I found a small notebook, my little vault of knowledge, you would call it. I actually decided to start this after I became the assistant manager for this place, due to amount of people that are in this place. I pulled out a pen and started to write, first going over all the tenants of the inn… and my personal opinion of them.

"Lets see… who do I start out with?"

I decided to go with whoever was most memorable in my mind.

"I can't believe she popped into my mind first…"

_**The Tenants of Hinatasou**_

_**Aoyama Motoko, a.k.a Kendo**__ (according to Keitaro anyways):_

_Age: 15_

_Personal Traits: Very serious and strict, Tends to very judgmental, Likes to yell move names (Yet I don't know why…). Can't put much detail in to this, as most of the times I see her I end up unconscious…_

_Appearance: Long raven black hair, with brown eyes, really tall for her age (probably taller than Keitaro…) and tends to dress like a shrine maiden (for what reason I don't know why…"_

_Likes: …_

_Dislikes: Apparently Me and Keitaro…most likely me more._

_Personal Opinion: Personally… I try to stay away from her as much as possible, though I always seem to run into her more… Overall the person who's caused me the most pain since I've been here. She could probably be really sweet if she wanted to, but I doubt that's gonna happen soon._

_**Narusegawa Naru:**_

_Age: 17_

_Personal Traits: Quick to judge, very studious, and also very violent, has quite a punch in her, which Keitaro seems to be the victim of numerous times. Aiming for Tokyo University, like Keitaro, according to him though, she can be kinda cute sometimes…_

_Appearance: Long brown hair and brown eyes, dresses up a little bit, but I think she dresses really casual sometimes._

_Likes: That one doll in her room I suppose… other than that, I really don't know._

_Dislikes: Perverts, __and __she constantly think__s that__ me and Keitaro a__re p__erverts…_

_Personal Opinion: Really, Really violent, I mean really, when she says iron punch she really means it. I try to stay away from her as much as possible as well, though I can't really tell if that working out to__o__ well. I'm pretty sure, like Motoko, she can be sweet when she wants to, and the Su and Shinobu seem to really look up to her._

_**Maehara Shinobu:**_

_Age: 1__2_

_Personal Traits: Shy, quiet, and actually really kind, and extremely mature for her age, able to cook and clean very well, though I wouldn't really know, as I've living off of instant noodles for some time now... Really nothing strange here, though I hear she had some family trouble. Seems to look up to Keitaro, probably has a little crush, or maybe I'm just reading her all wrong…_

_Appearance: Short blue hair and light blue eyes, according to many Korean Women, she'll probably grow up to be really beautiful, but she's 1__2__ now, so I won't really comment on her looks…_

_Likes: I really don't know, she seems to be very secretive_

_Dislikes: Don't know either, though I do think she doesn't trust me or Keitaro…_

_Personal Opinion: Not a bad girl, though she could do with a smile every now and then, I've seen her cry a lot, due to Keitaro's clumsiness. She actually reminds me a bit of my youngest sister, so I don't have any problems with her behavior._

_**Su Koala:**_

_Age: 13_

_Personal Traits: Very, Very energetic, and I highly doubt that it comes from all those bananas that she eats. Moved here from some Indian country… I think, and seems to admire her brother greatly. Really good with electronics and weaponry, very deadly weaponry, those missiles are no slouches…_

_Appearance: Short blonde hair and green eyes, along with tan skin. Nothing else to comment on, though she she'll probably look a bit more… I dunno, elegant maybe than Shinobu when she grows up._

_Likes: Bananas and spicy foods. Also Electronics, she likes to invent things._

_Dislikes: … As far as I can tell, none_

_Personal Opinion: Aside from the kicks to the face and missiles, I have pretty much no problems with her, in fact, she reminds me of my other younger sister, the __amount of energy they both have__ I mean, plus my sister kicks me in the face a lot to… Very brutal sometimes._

_**Konno **__**Mistune:**_

_Age: 19_

_Personal Traits: Very drunk in most cases that I see her, though I( don't really see here that often. She likes to tease Keitaro, either it be sexual woos or jokes about him and Naru. Never tries anything with me, as I don't tend to see her that often. Works as a Freelance Writer, though I've never seen her read anything…_

_Appearance: Short silver hair and silver eyes, I rarely see her eyes though, as they tend to always be closed, how she gets around is beyond me though… _

_Likes: Alcohol, money, gambling_

_Dislikes: … Dunno_

_Personal Opinion:__… I really can't say much about this individual, as she is rarely seen by me and in all of the instances I've met her, she was drunk, so no comment so far._

_**End of Entry**_

As I closed the notebook I heard the phone ring. I was close to the source so I didn't have to wander around that much to get to it. As I picked up the phone I heard the voice of Haruka, Keitaro's aunt.

"_You have visitors waiting for you, come over to the tea shop," _She said, hanging up soon afterwards.

"…Okay…" I said, as she hung up before I could reply.

"Well, if its visitors I can't show up looking like a bum…" I said as I headed back to my room to change out of my shorts and t-shirt.

I quickly got dressed into a tight long-sleeved black shirt and some slightly baggy jeans. I pushed up the sleeves of my shirt and headed towards the front door. Luckily it was where the phone was so I didn't have to go on an expedition to find my way around. I stepped outside the Hinatasou and took in a breath, as I usually went outside from some other kind of force, namely Naru and Motoko.

The area around Hinatasou was actually pretty simple, the front of the dorm consisted of a plain dirt ground and some trees, this and the only was out was a massive and long staircase, which was bordered by grass, it was pretty big, so I had to do a slight jog as to not keep the guest waiting. As I arrived at the bottom of the stairs, I noticed the Hinata Coffee Shop was right next to the staircase.

The place was made out of wood, and looked like a mix between a house, the shop sign hung above the door signifying the name of the place. I think Haruka lives here as well, but, like Mitsune, I haven't really talked to her that much. I headed for the front door and slid it open, leading to the sight of a familiar face.

Grandma Hina's face greeted me at the door, drawing a slight gasp from my lungs. A short old lady, with her gray hair tied into a bun, she was sitting at one of the shop's tables, with Haruka serving her tea. She was dressed in old style Japanese clothing, and seemed to be completely unaware of my presence. I decided to greet her first.

"Um… Hi-"I started, except I got slammed in the head by a cane, with Grandma Hina being the wielder.

"Pain!!" I yelled, rubbing my head.

"Is that anyway to greet your elder?" Grandma Hina said with her creaky old voice.

"Sorry, you seemed like you were growing senile in your old age…" I started again, only to receive another whack in the head from the old ladies cane.

"More pain!!"

"You really don't know much manners, do you?"

"Ok… sorry."

I took a breath.

"It is a pleasure to see you again Grandma Hina," I said in the most mannerly voice I could muster, giving a polite bow as I did so. I received another whack to the head.

"WHY?!?!"

"You didn't bow enough," The old lady commented.

"Are you serious?!?!" I yelled, with blood starting to flow again from the wound I received this morning.

"…Yes,"

I fell to the floor from the pointlessness of this conversation.

_5 minutes later…_

"So… what brings you back to Japan?" I asked now seated on the ground in front of the table, my shoes near the entrance. Haruka went out to do some grocery shopping.

"I'm not staying here for long, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention my presence here to Keitaro and the girls," She replied, taking a sip out of her tea.

"Why?"

"They'd most likely want me to stay, and I need to meet Kanako over at the airport in a couple of hours, we're heading to Europe."

"I see, so that's why she wasn't here…"

"Why? Miss her?"

"Well, I'd like to say hi, I did travel with you guys for three months y'know…"

"Hah, so you have a thing for my granddaughter, do you?"

"That's not it…"

"Sure it isn't…"

"Really, it isn't…"

"Sure…"

"No really, it-" I started to say again, but…yeah.

"Argh!"

"Don't back talk your elders."

As I was rubbing my head while muttering some curses, Grandma Hina started to speak.

"How are you handling things?" she asked.

I looked up.

"Aside from all the near-death experiences, I'd say pretty well," I replied.

"Hah, they were always a handful," The old lady commented.

She took another sip of her tea.

"So… what are your thoughts about this job?" She asked

"I guess I can handle it, but I still want to know why exactly you chose me to help Keitaro," I answered.

Grandma Hina stood up, she started to walk around.

"As you've probably noticed, the girls have a fair share of flaws," She started.

"Yeah…"

"Well, I gave the job of landlord to Keitaro because I knew he wouldn't abandon the place, and he seems like a person that would actually care about the girls, and he seems to be someone the girls would actually attach to, that they would actually better themselves if they started to like him."

"Right, I can see that happening."

"I thought of you as the other manager for the same reason, but for another as well."

"What reason?"

"You're more patient than Keitaro, you can try to understand the exact specific details for the girls' behavior, and you have keen insight in to the behaviors of most people, traveling with you has taught me this. The events in your life also make it easier for you to relate to these girls, and to befriend them not in the way that Keitaro can, but your own personal way."

"In what way?"

"My grandson seems to influence people with his determination and cheerfulness, and encourages people that are down, kind of like a friend that would never abandon another, and always try to bring others up inspiring them in them process. You, on the other hand, would make the girls feel better in your own way, either it be out of pure compassion or accidental, and help them realize their true self, what they can do, almost like Keitaro, but in a more discrete way."

"You must really care about the girls…"

"What can I say? They grow on you."

Grandma Hina looked at the clock.

"Well, I think its time for me to go…" She said.

I got up and bowed.

"It was nice seeing you again, too bad it was only for a short time…" I said, my mind a bit more clear than it was before.

"Oh, before I forget, your parents left a package for you…" The old lady replied.

"You actually went to see them?!' I asked, a bit surprised.

"They're good people, but you mother told me to tell you to find a wife soon."

"I'm only seventeen!"

The old lady placed a rather large box onto the table.

"Your mother also said that you're probably missing a lot of what's in this box right now…" She said, walking towards the door.

As she headed for the door, I asked a question.

"So, do you think I'm still suited for this job after talking to me?"

She turned around and replied, "More than ever."

She nodded goodbye and left. I was stuck lost in thought for a little bit. As I came out of thought for a bit, I gave a slight smile.

"Maybe this wont be so bad after all…"

**End Chapter 2**

* * *

**Thoughts? Please review about your opinion of the chapter, I can't really improve with encouragement, CC will be very appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 3

**_First of all, I would like to thank all the people reviewed my so kindly in the past chapter, you reviews motivated me to write even better. To those that did give me CC, I would like to thank you even more, ou pointed out not only my strenghts, but also my weaknesses._**

**_This chapter can be kind of confusing if you don't pay attention to detail, but other than that, I kind of enjoyed writing this chapter, enjoy._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the ideas of Ken Akamatsu, but my own ideas and creations belong to me._**

**Chapter 3: The Package**

After Grandma Hina left, I looked at the package on the table of the coffee shop. I was going to open it at first, but I though it'd be better if I opened it at Hinatasou. I noticed a long wrapped package next to the box, and thought it would be okay if I opened it here.

"I wonder what it could be…" I ponder as my hand pulled off the plain paper wrapping.

It turned out to be a thick, and long wooden sword, without the handle guard. It wasn't really that heavy, but after swinging it for a while, I'm pretty sure you would get tired. I got up and practiced a few swings with it. I then remembered that this was the sword I used for _**Kumdo **_practice in Korea.

"Still feels the same… Although it's much lighter than it used to be."

For some reason, when I held the blade out, I could imagine Motoko almost cleaving me in two…

"Better not ask for a match anytime soon…" I said, scratching my head slightly.

I stood up looking at the box, and lifted it up from the table. It was heavy, but I could understand that, I haven't seen my parents in a year, so they must have sent me tons of stuff. I walked out of the coffee shop and began heading up the stairs again, noticing that Mistune was arriving already. She was to far away to greet though, so I decided to head back to the dorm and greet her there.

* * *

"Fired again…" I said to myself as walked up the stairs to Hinatasou, I was the third time I was fired this month, so maybe it was time to find a different job than working at a café. 

I flicked my silver bangs slightly, and straightened out my black turtleneck and khaki pants. My silver eyes caught a glimpse of our newest manager walking into the Hinatasou with a rather large box in his hands. What really caught my attention though was the fact that a wooden sword was in his hands as well.

"Either he is gonna try out his luck against Motoko or he found it lying somewhere on the street," I guessed, as the only person I was used to see carrying a sword was no where around.

I walked into the house after the manager as he was walking into his room. I thought this the perfect time to test out his character.

"Let's see if he's as weak as Keitaro is when it comes to feminine charm…heh."

* * *

I placed the box down near my bed and decided to change into my lounging clothes once again. For some reason though, as soon I took my shirt off, Mistune walked into the room. She seemed really bewildered at first, but regained composure moments after.

* * *

I'm not sure what it was, but as I entered that room and my eyes fell upon his naked chest, I started to blush. His tone muscular upper body mystified me for a moment, and he seemed completely unfazed. His face remained calm as he saw me enter the room, but I was still wondering why, I was used to a guy getting surprised by me walking into the room in their half-naked state. I regained my composure soon enough though. 

"Mistune?" He asked

"Oh please, call me Kitsune, it sounds more friendly," I said with a big smile.

"Okay… Kitsune, what're you doing home so early?"

My eyes grew slightly wider at this question.

"_**Now's my chance," **_I thought to myself.

I kneeled down and averted my gaze from him slightly, managing a fake blush in the process and started to draw a circle with my finger on my knee.

Mustering up the biggest sad voice I thought possible, I said, "I got fired today…"

I kept averting my gaze from him, trying to look truly sad, if he was any normal man, he'd be going nuts right now.

"What happened?" He asked.

He was drawing closer to my grasp. I jumped forward and pressed my head against his firm chest, my knuckles pressed softly against his firm breast.

Still averting my gaze from him, I whined, "It's too emotional to talk about, for now I just need someone to hold me…"

A grin was forming in my mind.

"_**He's in my clutches now…"**_

I looked up with the most innocent face possible.

"Will you hold me?" I asked

I was pretty sure I had him, not even the most tight ass of a man would reject me right now. I felt his hands one my shoulders, I expected to get closer to him, and then I'd bust out with a, "just kidding" to throw him completely off. What happened was the complete opposite, he pushed me away.

He gave a slight sigh, "Kistune, I know what flirting and joking is when I see it, I really don't think losing a job at a café would really hurt you this much."

A complete state of shock came over me; I didn't expect that he would read me so easily.

"I'm really sorry if this sounds rude, but I need to get changed, so could you leave for a moment?" He asked, folding the shirt in his hands.

"Uh…okay"

I walked out of the room and closed the slicing door, my jaw dropped soon afterwards.

"_**He read me like an open book!!" **_I yelled in my mind.

I couldn't help but remember that box he was carrying before, it could contain anything, maybe even his weaknesses.

"Now I'm really interested in that box…"

* * *

I finished changing into a red shirt and black shorts, still wondering about the event that transpired not too long ago. 

"_**That tested my morals for sure," **_I thought, the act almost seemed real, if it were for another more important reason that she acted sad, I might have succumbed to temptation.

"I didn't know a girl's skin could be that smooth though…" I said to myself, blushing slightly.

I shook my head as if to throw out the thought.

"I have more important things to worry about, most of all being the fact that I have to clean this entire place by the end of the day."

I gave a sigh and headed for the door, I stopped first, remembering the box that was next to my bed. Remembering that Keitaro mentioning something about Kistune's tendency to be nosy, I picked the box up and looked for a place to hide it.

"Can't have someone looking into the box before me, now can I?" I said to myself, walking around to room to find a place to stash it.

After looking around the room, I found no place to hide it. It was then that I noticed the hole in the ceiling.

"I wonder if I could hide this in there…"

I placed my feet onto Keitaro's study table. As I stood onto the structure, I heard the creaking of the table, as if it was about to crack in half. I stopped moving for a second; maybe the weight of the box combined with me might be too much for the table to handle. The creaking soon stopped, and I gave a sigh of relief. Peering into the hole, I noticed it was blocked by some type of board. But when I saw a large gap between the planks of the floors, I tried squeezing my box into that space. It fit, and I gave a smile.

"I really don't think anyone will find it here."

I got down from the table and organized everything again. I dug through my backpack again and pulled out a black iPod. At least with some music, I wouldn't be bored to tears while cleaning. I walked to the door, finally ready to start cleaning. As I slid open the slicing door, I saw Kitsune leaning against the wall, with what seemed like a thick cloud of confusion around her.

"Kitsune?" I asked, wondering as to why she would still be standing outside my door when she left five minutes ago.

"Wha?!"

She came out of her trance in a weird pose, with a look of surprise stretching across her face.

"Ah, sorry, I was… thinking on an idea for a new story, I am a writer y'know," She said after regaining her composure.

"Oh… but why are you thinking in the hallway?"

"My room is stuffy, the air is fresh out here, what with the balconies and all."

"Okay… well, good luck with that, I gotta start cleaning if I'm gonna get any free time today," I said, putting my headphones into my ears.

"You don't mind cleaning this big place all by yourself?" She asked curiously.

"It gives me something to do, besides, with my sense of misdirection, I'll probably clean everything just trying to find my way back to my room." I answered.

"Really, so it doesn't bother you at all working alone?"

"Keitaro needs to study, so cleaning really doesn't bother me at all, I do need to find a college to get into soon though…"

I hit play on my iPod and started to try and find to find my way storage room.

"I'll see you later," I said, waving slightly.

* * *

I waved to Seth until he turned the corner. It was then that I zipped into his room in a blur. 

"Now that box could be in here anywhere…" I said to myself, examining the area.

It was clean as a whistle, even if they did clean the entire structure, I would think they would be bums in their room. This made thing easier though, as I didn't have to dig through piles of junk that I thought I would have to.

"With Seth's sense of misdirection, I think it'll be easy to find that box before he gets done cleaning." I assure myself, rolling up my sleeves.

"This'll be easy,"

* * *

As I found the storage room, I heard a loud scream of anger rush through the apartment structure. 

"She must be thinking hard…" I said to myself, turning to volume of my iPod up a bit higher.

I flicked the switch for the light, as the light flickered, It revealed many different cleaning tools and various nic nacs, I won't go into too much detail, it'd bore someone to tears, myself included. I grabbed a mop and a bucket.

"Time to start…" I said with a sigh, the though of cleaning such a huge place depressed me somewhat.

"I think I can get some water from the kitchen…"

As I turned around to leaved I noticed a shadow duck out from the corner of the door.

"Huh?"

I walked out of the room and looked around.

"Kitsune?" I called out, as she was the only one in the house at the time. No answer.

"Probably imagined it…"

I pulled out a crumpled map from my pocket.

"Lets see, if I'm here, then the kitchen should be to the right of me…"

Surprisingly enough, I have figured out how to read maps in the past week, and the many times I have used a map, I got to my destination safely, when I don't… not so much.

As I walked through the empty halls of Hinatasou, I kept feeling an obnoxious presence behind me every time I turned a corner, but as I turned around to see anything, there was nothing. Since Kitsune said she was thinking in the hallways, I couldn't help but suspect her.

* * *

My scream of frustration earlier came from the combined depression of me losing my job and the fact that the package Seth had with him seemed to have grown feet and walked away before I entered the room. After releasing some steam from some built up stress, I decided the only way to find out where this box is was to follow our manager around. I though he might mention it if he was alone. 

As it turned out though, he was completely silent as I followed him through the hallways of Hinatasou, I even followed him to the kitchen and watched him fill his empty bucket water hoping he might let his secret out. All he ever did, even when he proceeded to clean the kitchen, was hum to the tune on his iPod, it made me kind of mad.

"_**How can any person be quiet for so long?!"**_

As he was done cleaning the kitchen, he wiped his forehead and gave a sigh.

"I guess I'll clean the hot springs next…"

He picked up his bucket, a slight smile stretched across his face.

"At least I have something to look forward to by the end of the day," He said.

My quick little depression ended, and instead I focused back onto Seth.

"Letsee, where did I put that box again?"

My head stretched a bit further towards Seth.

"I forgot,"

I almost stumbled at that comment.

"How do you forget something that quickly?!" I yelled in my anger, realizing my mistake soon after.

"Huh?"

I bolted for the door as quietly and quickly as I could, making it out as soon as he entered the dining room. Before I left for my room I heard him speak in confusion.

"I could of swore I heard Kitsune's voice…"

As I made my way back to my room I couldn't help but feel a bit irritated at the manager's forgetfulness.

"_**I can't believe he would forget something so fast," **_I though to myself, opening the slicing door to my room.

I walked into my room, which was not as clean as Keitaro's and Seth's, as I tended to have very bad hangovers in the mornings and found no need to clean up.

"There has got to be a way to get that box…" I said to myself, stroking my chin to somehow help myself think.

Time started to fly as I pondered on many ideas to get that box away from the manager.

* * *

I was finished cleaning, and decided to take a rest in the living room, which in turn was right in from of the front door. It was now four o'clock in the afternoon, meaning that the place was going to be pretty lively again. I decided to greet everyone as they came through the door, with each of their reactions differing. 

The first one coming home was none other than the main manager himself. He seemed lifeless from depression. Something must've gone wrong at his prep school once again.

"How's it going?" I asked, looking for an answer from his depressed posture.

He answered in a weak sigh. I was contagious, as it made me sigh as well.

"Well, keep up the good fight," I said, finding no other words suitable for his condition as he turned to walk into his room.

"Makes me depressed just looking at him…" I commented, feeling a little down from the slight conversation I just had.

A few minutes later Naru arrived.

"What's up?" I asked, not really expecting to get an answer.

"Oh, hi," She replied, quickly running upstairs to do something.

I was a bit surprised.

"Maybe she doesn't completely hate me…" I wondered.

My thoughts were completely shattered by a sudden kick to the face.

"Hiiiii Seth!" An energetic Su yelled as I fell to the floor.

She landed on my chest and looked at me with a face of pure energy and joy.

"Hi to you too…" I said, picking her up off my chest and getting up.

I noticed that Shinobu came home around the same time as Su.

"Nice to see you Shinobu," I greeted, giving a polite wave as I did so.

"Um… hi," She said, quickly walking off to her room.

"She must be really shy…" I commented.

I felt a menacing presence as I finished my sentence. I turned around to see Motoko in her school uniform walk through the door.

"Um… Hi Motoko?" I greeted, not really sure what her mood was.

She shot an angry glare at me.

"Wah?!"

She then turned away and walked off. I scratched my head after this happened.

"I didn't even do anything thing… oh yeah," I said, giving a sigh afterwards.

"Heeey, Motoko wait up!" Su yelled happily, running the direction Motoko went.

"I'll go fix dinner…" Shinobu said, walking off to the kitchen.

Before I new it, everyone was gone.

"Strange, I was really expecting something bad to happen…" I said to myself, as bad things always seemed to happen.

For some reason, the obnoxious presence appeared again, this time accompanied by a piercing feeling that seemed to latch onto my back.

"Hmm…"

Thinking of nothing else to do, I decided that I should go to my room.

"_**Maybe now I can see what is in the box without anything else to do." **_I though, actually remembering where I put the box.

I headed for my room and slid open the door, only to see Keitaro sitting in a corner with a dazed and lost expression, it was almost as if I could see his soul escaping from him.

"Um… Keitaro?" I asked.

No response. I sat next to him and waved my hand in front of his face.

"Hello?"

Still no response. I gave a sigh.

"Fine, if words won't bring you back to reality…"

I gave him a hard flick to the forehead, something Koreans do to each other if they lose a bet or something. His head jolted back, and he gave a yell. Regaining what little composure he had, he started to yell.

"What was that for?!"

"First of all, you looked like you were in the ranks of the living dead, and second of all, you can't just go looking depressed all over the place, I wanted to cry just looking at you," I answered.

"Oh… well I couldn't really help it, I felt really back about today's mock exams and I couldn't help but feel that it's hopeless trying to get into Tokyo University," Keitaro replied in a whining voice.

"Why are even trying if it's so hopeless?" I asked, the situation irritated me a bit.

"Well, you see, I made this promise to a girl when I was really young, and we promised that we would go to Tokyo University together, and well… you already know how that turned out."

I was silent for a moment.

"Pretty stupid huh?"

I flicked him in the forehead once again.

"Why again?!"

"If it's for a promise, you really think need to stop killing yourself over it, in fact, promises are easier to fulfill if you have fun doing it, and you really shouldn't think your promises stupid in the process," I explained, showing my view of the matter.

"And I really don't think that energy drinks and caffeine pills are the right weapons for this in the first place," I said, examining the many empty bottles as containers in the room's trashcan.

"Umm… yeah."

I gave a sigh.

"But from looking at your answer sheet, I dunno…" I said, looking at the many crumpled answer sheets that were also in said trashcan.

"Hey…" Keitaro replied, a vein sprouting from his forehead.

"Ah, sorry…" I said putting the trashcan down.

"Anyways, you should ask someone for tutoring, maybe Naru could help," I continued, pointing to the hole in the ceiling.

"But she's only in high school, it'd be kinda weird looking for a guy in prep school asking for a high schooler's help, don't you think?" Keitaro asked, scratching his head slightly.

"She's a senior in high school, so she's got some smart, plus, from what I can tell, your intelligence is pretty much that of a junior high student."

"You don't have to put it so bluntly…"

"Just ask for god's sake, its not gonna kill you…"

Keitaro gave a sigh and picked up one of his study books. As he stood onto the table he knocked onto the board placed above the hole before pushing it up. This was followed by a scream and a large thump, causing Keitaro to fly into his table and snapping it in half.

"Or maybe it will…" I said, with a look of pity as I saw Keitaro twitch slightly from his uncomfortable position. I also noticed that he pulled the box down with him, I picked it up and gave it a slight shake to see if anything was broken. The obnoxious presence started to claw at my back, but I paid no mind to it.

"Well… maybe now is a good time to open it."

I saw Keitaro get up, looking unscathed, but massaging his back slightly.

"Y'know… you should give a warning next time," I said as Keitaro looked at his broken table in despair.

"You're the one who gave me the idea…" He replied, trying to fix the table with some tape.

"Did you really think that I meant now?"

"But it sounded like you did…"

I gave a sigh and helped him with the table. After being able to patch it up a little bit I looked at the box again. Keitaro seemed to notice.

"Where did you get that from in the first place?" He asked, looking at it in a peculiar way.

"Picked it up this morning, haven't been able to open it all day, what with the distractions and all," I answered, looking at the door slightly.

"So you cleaned this entire place?" He asked.

"Figured it was too much for a guy trying to get into one of the top colleges in Japan to study and clean a large complex," I answered, getting closer to the door, silently, of course.

"Well, it does make my life easier."

I slid open the door, causing Kitsune to stumble into the room.

"I'm pretty sure you've wanted to look into this box for a while now right?" I asked.

"Of course not! I was just passing by and slipped, that's all!" Kitsune said in a rushed voice, I squatted down and looked at her with a face of disbelief.

"Then why were you following all of today?"

She gave a quick laugh and sprinted down the hallway. I gave a sigh.

"I'll never know what I did to get into this situation…" I complained, remembering the sudden recommendation from Grandma Hina.

I picked up the box, and finally opened it, what greeted my was slightly unexpected.

"Food?" I said, looking at the many Korean and American foods that were packed into the box.

I picked up a pack of potato chip with a sudden curiosity.

"Sure I've missed some of the foods from the states but they didn't need to send this much…" I said, wondering why they would send stuff like this, I would've appreciated a letter or two.

I tossed Keitaro the snack and dug through the rest of the box, only to find even more snacked and cooking foods in the process. I scratched my head after the search.

"Well, if Kitsune was looking for anything, she would've been sorely disappointed." I said, crawling over to my bed and picking up my notebook, jotting down a few notes.

I noticed Keitaro innocently snacking on the bag of potato chips I handed to him, I gave a slight laugh and lied my head down to rest.

"At least we don't have to live off of instant noodles again," I said, as Keitaro and I were excluded from the dining table as everyone feasted on Shinobu's cooking.

I picked up my wooden sword and held it up slightly, remembering the bond that developed between my brother and me through this sword. It was the spark that developed the bond, and it remains it, until the day it is broken.

Eventually lost in thought, my eyes closed, only to open the next morning.

* * *

After being caught by Seth, I peered through the large hole in Naru's room, still hoping to find what was in the box. When I had found out what was in there, I gave a sigh of disappointment. This stopped when I noticed the younger of the two pull out a small notebook. 

"Gotcha," I said in a triumphant voice, only to be interrupted by the room's owner.

"Not that I don't mind the company or anything… but you're constant mumbling is really starting to bother me," Naru said, looking at me with her giant spectacles.

I didn't really matter anymore, I knew what to truly go after know, it was only a matter of time before I got my hands on it, with some help of course.

**End Chapter 3**

_**Kumdo-** Korean Style of sword fighting._

**_Thoughts? I'm really sorry if this chapter is not as good as the other ones, I wanted to try a contant switch of perspectives, so I don't really know how this worked out._**

**_I have also put up a poll on my profile and would really appreciate it if you check it out. I kind of wanted some of the story to be decided by the readers, so I put that up there. Though, in terms of the poll, I would like a Seth/Motoko relationship, though that seems to be a bit over done nowadays... _**

**_If you can, reviews and CC will be very much apprecated._**


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